Aamir Khan speaks on Peepli Live

I liked Anusha’s (Anusha Rizvi) script the first time she narrated it to me,” enthuses Aamir Khan, soon after unveiling the first theatrical promos of his forthcoming production,

Peepli Live

. Surprisingly, Rizvi was missing in action. Khan attributed her absence to some personal issues that had kept her back home in Delhi. Raghuvir Yadav is the only known face in this movie. Khan says it’s fortunate that the buyers still find his film bankable.

No Interferance

“We have retained the territories where our distribution network is strong, like India, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and the US. But we have sold most of the European territories to networks like the Artificial Eye in the UK,” he informs.

Even though all his films have his trademark stamp, Khan dismisses reports that he interfered in the making of

Peepli Live

: “Anusha did some test shoots to show us how she wanted to make the film. I liked the results and that boosted my confidence. I like to involve myself in the scripting and the pre-production and to a certain extent in the post-production too. But not once did I go on location.”

The film is about the media circus that follows the announcement of a farmer, Natha, committing suicide. Pointing out that Rizvi had been a TV journo, Khan joked that the media should support her since she was from their

biradri

(fraternity).

Many of the actors in the film are facing the camera for the first time and are from the late Habib Tanvir’s Naya Theatre group. “Having seen the film, I can say that their performances are better than my best,” applauds Khan. Apart from the trailers, Rizvi is also using 10-12 virals to promote the film. The first, in which a TV reporter takes a dig at Khan, will go on air today. He admits he himself added the lines “

Har film Lagaan nahin hoti

,” and “

Aamir paagal ho gaya hai

.”

The Rs 10 crore film was screened at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals. It will open on August 13.